Analista advierte que gobierno y dirigentes pagarán “factura” por 46 días de bloqueos

Political analyst Marcelo Arequipa argues that Bolivia is “trapped by a leadership that has embraced maximalist protest” (demanding the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz Pereira as its sole condition), while the national government has opted for a “strategy of attrition” instead of taking concrete action to resolve the conflict, which has now seen 46 days of road blockades in the western part of the country. Despite the Executive's insistence on dialogue as the only way forward, Arequipa points out that the mobilized sectors maintain a closed stance and that the social cost of the prolonged blockade (which includes shortages of food, medicine, and fuel, and millions in economic losses) will be exacted from both the government and the protest leaders. The expert questions the effectiveness of the presidential strategy and warns that the post-conflict recovery will take longer than the days of the paralysis itself, while the population of La Paz endures the consequences of a political confrontation that cannot be resolved through either dialogue or the application of a state of emergency.